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Frank Awards 2014: Cinematography, Editing and Choreography

Another day of Frank Awards, another opportunity to mock me because of my awful taste in films. This day I’ve merged the categories of cinematography, editing and the choreography, mainly because the latter is so dependent on the previous two that is kinda dumb to give it its own day. Besides, as you maybe have noticed, the films mentioned haven’t had any “discussion”, except for the winners. I think this is a move from my part to say: these qualities are evident, now let’s see which I think is actually the best of them all. Hope you understand.

Best Cinematography

The winner last year was Matthias Grunsky for his splendid and surprising work in the black and white feature ‘Computer Chess’ (2013). In 2014 he was busy with a swiss TV show and with a documentary that hasn’t been making too many rounds named ‘The Syndrome’, he will be cinematographer in the new 2015 Bujalski project, so let’s see what awaits us.

The nominees are:

Robert D. Yeoman for ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’

Radek Ladczuk for ‘The Babadook’

Seamus McGarvey for ‘Godzilla’

Timo Salminen for ‘Jauja’

Leonardo Simões for ‘Cavalo Dinheiro’

Here the only returning nominee is Robert D. Yeoman, who actually was nominated for Wes Anderson’s previous movie, ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ (2012), returning this year once again with precious images. But, will he win? The rest of the slate is new, so it’s exciting, and varied movies and ways to look at cinematography present here.

So, the winner is:

Timo Salminen does something quite unseen with ‘Jauja’. He delivers layers without moving the camera and without too many elements inside the frame, he makes the burning sun something that reveals the rocky nature of the Patagonia, as if there was something hidden beyond what we see in the first term. Infinite and beyond comprehension, the way we see in ‘Jauja’ is different than in any other movie this year. Bravo.

***

Best Film Editing – Sally Menke Award

The winner of last year’s Sally Menke award was the Chinese multi tasking machine William Chang, who edited the WKW film ‘Yi dai zong shi’ (2013). During 2014 he didn’t have any editing tasks assigned to him, which is a shame. What editing skills will be nominated this year?

The nominees are:

Sandra Adair for ‘Boyhood’

Tom Cross for ‘Whiplash’

Jun’ichi Itô for ‘Tokyo Tribe’

Jabez Olssen for ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’

Lee Smith for ‘Interstellar’

Once again a mostly new slate of editors that vie for the big prize that is named after one of the greatest film editors of all time that had won Frank Awards in the past. Lee Smith is the one repeat, after winning his first Frank Award for his work in another Christopher Nolan film, ‘Inception’ (2010). But, will he win again?

The winner is…

Sandra Adair did something wonderful with ‘Boyhood’, she managed to make a narrative that was 12 real long years and figure that something was going to happen, and concatenate it with the next, in such a seamless fashion that the sudden nature of the realization also brings forward the emotion and everything that the movie wants to be. She makes the movie work, let’s give it for her splendid work.

***

Best Choreography – Action

Last year the masterpiece of Wong Kar Wai, ‘Yi dai zong shi’ (2013) surprised me more than anything else that year, what kind of martial arts or fighting styles will shine upon us this year’s nominees?

The nominated films are:

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Guardians of the Galaxy

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

The Raid 2: Berandal

[REC] 4: Apocalipsis

And the best action choreography was in…

There’s no denying that ‘The Raid 2: Berandal’ was one of the most exhilarating films in terms of how much fighting and choreography was used, and at the same time the amount of work done in doing these in the right way. There was no competition here, this movie is kick-ass, and once again, Asian films seem to dominate this category every year.

***

Best Choreography – Dance

Last year I asked you all to believe me that the dance choreography present in ‘Sao karaoke’ (2013) was something to behold, and I still ask you to believe it, as this movie remains little seen outside festivals. On the other hand, the movies nominated here…

The nominated films are:

Guardians of the Galaxy

Gui lai

Monty Python Live (Mostly)

Stage Fright

Tokyo Tribe

And the best dance choreography was in…

While being presented in the Oz theater in London, I think that the recorded work has still a value and scenes of wonderful craft, like the choreography in the ‘Penis Song’ (and its counterpart) from an enormous troop of dancers. Way to go!

Amicus Productions: Horror-Scifi

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
The Skull (1965)
Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965)
The Psychopath (1966)
Dalek's Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. (1966)
The Terrornauts (1967)
The Deadly Bees (1967)
They Came from Beyond Space (1967)
Torture Garden (1967)
The Mind of Mr. Soames (1970)
The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
I, Monster (1971)
Tales from the Crypt (1972)
What Became of Jack and Jill? (1972)Asylum (1972)
The Vault of Horror (1973)-- And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973)
From Beyond the Grave (1974)
Madhouse (1974)
The Beast Must Die (1974)
The Land That Time Forgot (1975)
At the Earth's Core (1976)
The People That Time Forgot (1977)
The Monster Club (1981)

Hammer Pictures: Horror-Fantasy-Sci Fi

The Mystery of the Marie Celeste (1935)
Man in Black (1949)
Dick Barton Strikes Back (1949)
Dick Barton at Bay (1950)
Four Sided Triangle (1953)
Spaceways (1953)
The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
X: The Unknown (1956)The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Quatermass 2 (1957)
The Abominable Snowman (1957)
Tales of Frankenstein (1958)Dracula (1958)The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959)
The Mummy (1959)
The Stranglers of Bombay (1960)The Brides of Dracula (1960)
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960)
The Terror of the Tongs (1961)
Taste of Fear (1961)
The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)
Shadow of the Cat (1961)
Captain Clegg (1962)
The Phantom of the Opera (1962)
Paranoiac (1963)
The Damned (1963)
Maniac (1963)
The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)
The Old Dark House (1963)
Nightmare (1964)
The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
The Gorgon (1964)
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964)
Fanatic (1965)
She (1965)
The Nanny (1965)
The Plague of the Zombies (1966)Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)
The Reptile (1966)
Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966)
The Witches (1966)
One Million Years B.C. (1966)
Slave Girls (1967)
The Mummy's Shroud (1967)
Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
Quatermass and the Pit (1967)
Journey to Midnight (1968)
Journey into Darkness (1968)
The Vengeance of She (1968)
The Lost Continent (1968)
The Devil Rides Out (1968)
"Journey to the Unknown" (1968)Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)
Frankenstein Must be Destroyed (1969)
Moon Zero Two (1969)Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)
Crescendo (1970)
The Vampire Lovers (1970)
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970)
The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)Scars of Dracula (1970)
Lust for a Vampire (1971)
Countess Dracula (1971)
Creatures the World Forgot (1971)
Twins of Evil (1971)
Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971)
Hands of the Ripper (1971)
Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971)
Vampire Circus (1972)Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)
Straight on Till Morning (1972)
Fear in the Night (1972)
Demons of the Mind (1972)The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)
Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter (1974)
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)
To the Devil a Daughter (1976)
"Hammer House of Horror" (1980)
"Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense" (1984)
Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1984)
Beyond the Rave (2008)
Let Me In (2010)The Resident (2011)